Outfit for a Wednesday: Monochrome Gray and Violet

Sometimes, my favorite outfits for the office turn out to stem from an article of clothing that is, indeed, not stereotypically office appropriate. Although originally our dress dogma was ordained to be business casual, the rules on that end have grown a bit lax; while I am usually the most creative in how I bend them, I find them to be quite suppliant and never actually break them. In this case, I wore a plain gray cotton tee shirt, which has a loose, very comfortable fit, but which is also, surprisingly, a flattering shape. I coupled this with a pleated wool gray skirt, of an identical hue.


This skirt gathers a bit around the waist, tying neatly with a tiny bow. Since it is shorter, the fuller, a-line cut of this skirt is not overly voluminous. Since I am tall, with exceedingly long legs, a wonderful trait for which I am eternally grateful, I can carry some volume well, both in terms of fabric and some added winter cushion to my figure, however, naturally, I like appearing stream-lined as well.




Although the tee shirt is the epitome of casual, pairing it with a more tailored piece for the bottom, in the same color, serves to create the illusion of a dress, to create a facade of an outfit more formal.





I kept within the color palette for my accessories: my trusted wide gray lucite bangle, cascading lucite chandelier necklace, and a pair of gray-tinged pearl earrings.


I had purchased these shoes awhile ago, I believe before Christmas, during a Century 21 sale. There were two different colors available: this pewter and a pale peach with copper combination. For whatever reason, I created the false memory that I had instead picked up the peach pair, never verified this by actually peeping into the shoe box in my closet. So, for weeks, they sat, unworn. Finally, I excavated them, happy to discuss that my bout of good judgment had not faltered, I had the pewter pair, a perfect match for this look.



Dark violet tights finished the outfit, for a bit of a bright flair.